“That is a statistic that is climbing, particularly young females getting into vehicles with people who have been drinking,” said Melody Bodnarchuk of MADD Winnipeg.

Bodnarchuk put the numbers into perspective.

“To me, if this was something like a virus, Manitobans would be in a panic, that every three and a half days, somebody in Manitoba is dying,” she said.

In an effort to reduce drinking and driving over the holidays, Manitoba RCMP announced the kickoff of their 2016 Holiday Checkstop program. The checkstop campaign begins on Dec. 2 and runs until Jan. 2.

The RCMP has written more than 40,000 tickets in 2016—6,000 more than last year. But the message doesn’t seem to be getting through.

“The truth is, if behaviours don’t change, an estimated 10 people will die on our roads during the holidays,” said Scott Kolody with Manitoba RCMP. “And in the past decade, there has not been a single year when someone has not died.”

In addition to driving sober, the RCMP is encouraging drivers to buckle up, avoid using their phone, and to drive for the conditions.